Gangs

Gangs

Ashley, Bernard. Little soldier. New York : Scholastic, 2003, c1999. Taken from Africa to a foster home in London after his family is killed by an enemy tribe, Kaninda discovers the meaning of hate and the value of not hating.
Atkin, interviews and photographs by S. Beth. Voices from the streets : young former gang members tell their stories. Boston : Little, Brown & Co, c1996. Photographs, poems, and interviews with former gang members from different regions of the United States depict their experiences.
Bing, L†on, 1950- Do or die. New York : HarperPerennial, 1992. Explores the ghetto and gangs of South Central Los Angeles.
Bonham, Frank. Durango Street. New York : Puffin, 1999, c1965. As headman of his teenage gang, Rufus Henry has to deal not only with other gangs, but also with the police sanctioned sponsor who has involved himself with Rufus and his friends.
Bunting, Eve, 1928- Someone is hiding on Alcatraz Island. New York : Berkley, 1986, c1984. When he offends the toughest gang in his San Francisco school, Danny tries to elude them by going to Alcatraz only to find himself and a Park Service employee trapped by the gang in an old prison cell block.
Coburn, Jake. Prep. New York : Dutton Children's Books, 2003. One-time tag-artist, Nick tries to come to terms with the death of a friend, to protect the brother of his would-be girlfriend, to escape the violence of wealthy New York City prep school hoods, and to figure out who he really is.
Draper, Sharon M. (Sharon Mills) Romiette and Julio. New York : Aladdin Paperbacks, 2001, c1999. Romiette, an African-American girl, and Julio, a Hispanic boy, discover that they attend the same high school after falling in love on the Internet, but are harassed by a gang whose members object to their interracial dating.
Ewing, Lynne. Drive-by. New York, NY : HarperTrophy, 1998, c1996. Twelve-year-old Tito, while helping to care for his little sister, struggles to find his way during the aftermath of his brother's death in a gang-related shooting.
Fleischman, H. Samuel. Gang girl. Garden City, N.Y. : Doubleday, [1967] A girl in New York's Spanish Harlem, joins a girl's gang but finds less dignity in this situation than in the home life from which she sought relief.
Fremon, Celeste. Father Greg & the homeboys : the extraordinary journey of Father Greg Boyle and his work with the Latino gangs of East L.A. New York : Hyperion, c1995. Tells of the ministry of Catholic priest Greg Boyle among the Hispanic gangs of Los Angeles and its positive impact on the life of the community.
Garland, Sherry. Shadow of the dragon. San Diego : Harcourt Brace, c1993. High school sophomore Danny Vo tries to resolve the conflict between the values of his Vietnamese refugee family and his new American way of life.
Hernandez, Arturo, 1959- Peace in the streets : breaking the cycle of gang violence. Washington, DC : Child Welfare League of America, c1998. The author tells about his one-year experiment teaching gang members from South Central Los Angeles in a one-room schoolhouse in 1982; and shares his experiences with gangs on the Salt River Reservation, Arizona, where the community takes a very different response to the problem of gang violence.
Hinojosa, Maria. Crews. San Diego : Harcourt Brace, c1995. Presents a sampling of interviews with gang members. Portrays a sometimes shocking and sometimes heartening picture of the young men and women who live on the edge of poverty and violence.
Hinton, S.E. The Outsiders.
Howe, Quincy, 1934- Broken chains. Paramus, N.J. : Globe Fearon, c1995. Julio, infatuated with Vanessa, agrees to act as a big brother for her fourteen-year-old brother Hector who has recently fallen in with a bad crowd, but Julio does not realize his involvement with Hector is going to compromise his relationship with Vanessa.
Howe, Quincy, 1934- Looking for trouble. Paramus, N.J. : Globe Fearon, c1995. When Vasey's friend Hi-C arrives in the city and becomes involved with a gang, Vasey's friends team up to try and teach Hi-C that life on the streets isn't as cool as he thinks it is.
Kropp, Paul. Gang war. St. Paul, Minn. : EMC Pub./Paradigm Pub., c1984. Jack and the Punks think they're tough, but Charlie and the Saints don't like getting pushed around so the two gangs fight it out in the last rumble.
Martinez, Victor. Parrot in the oven: mi vida
Mowry, Jess, 1960- Rats in the trees : stories. Santa Barbara, CA : J. Daniel and Co. ; Austin, Tex. : Distributed by Texas Monthly Press, 1990. Arriving in Oakland with his skateboard and dreams of living by the ocean, thirteen-year-old Robby befriends the Animals, a street gang whose culture is based on skateboards, beer, rap slang, and danger.
Mowry, Jess, 1960- Way past cool : a novel. New York : HarperPerennial, 1993, c1992. Describes the lives of young gang members living on the edge in Oakland as they cope with a rival gang, drug dealers, and other problems.
Myers, Walter Dean, 1937- Scorpions. New York : Harper & Row, 1990, c1988. After reluctantly taking on the leadership of the Harlem gang, the Scorpions, Jamal finds that his enemies treat him with respect when he acquires a gun--until a tragedy occurs.
Oates, Joyce Carol, 1938- Foxfire : confessions of a girl gang. New York : Plume, 1994. During the 1950s, five high school girls in upstate New York form a gang called Foxfire.
Phillips, Susan A., 1969- Wallbangin' : graffiti and gangs in L.A. Chicago : University of Chicago Press, 1999. A study of gangs and graffiti in Los Angeles, presenting a cross-cultural, political approach to the topic of gangs in L.A.; featuring ethnographies of Chicano and African American gangs, primarily as seen through their graffiti; offering a brief review of hip-hop graffiti; and discussing cross-ethnic gang relationships.
Randle, Kristen D. Breaking rank. New York : Morrow Junior Books, c1999. Seventeen-year-old Casey has some of her preconceived notions challenged when she begins to tutor Baby, a member of a ganglike non-conformist society called the Clan.
Rodriguez, Luis J., 1954- Always running : La Vida Loca, gang days in L.A. New York : Simon & Schuster, 1994. Rodriguez's memoir explores the motivations of gang life and cautions against the death and destruction that inevitably claim its participants.
Rodriguez, Luis J., 1954- Hearts and hands : creating community in violent times. New York : Seven Stories Press, c2001. Luis Rodriguez uses his own experiences as a peacemaker with gangs in Los Angeles, Chicago, and many other cities to explore how people can create nonviolent opportunities to redirect children toward productive, satisfying lives and away from the dangers of gangs, drugs, and violence.
Rodriguez, Luis J., 1954- It doesn't have to be this way : a barrio story. San Francisco : Children's Book Press, c1999. Reluctantly a young boy becomes more and more involved in the activities of a local gang, until a tragic event involving his cousin forces him to make a choice about the course of his life.
Ruiz, Mona. Two badges : the lives of Mona Ruiz. Houston, Tex : Arte Público Press, 1997. Story of a woman who overcame her past as a gang member and became a police officer.
Sanchez, Reymundo, 1963- My bloody life : the making of a Latin King. Chicago : Chicago Review Press, 2001.
Sanchez, Reymundo, 1963- Once a King, always a King : the unmaking of a Latin King. Chicago, Ill. : Chicago Review Press ; [S.l.] : Distributed by Independent Publishers Group, c2003. The author describes his struggle to separate himself from the Latin Kings, detailing his initial break with the Chicago gang, and telling how he was drawn back into the criminal life, and how his time in prison allowed him the chance to prepare himself for life outside the gang.
Shakur, Sanyika, 1964- Monster : the autobiography of an L.A. gang member. New York, N.Y. : Penguin Books, 1994. L.A. Crip gang member Kody Scott recounts his life from the time he joined at eleven years old to being in solitary confinement at San Quentin.
Shulman, Irving. West Side story : a novelization. New York : Pocket, 1967, c1961. Maria, a young Puerto Rican girl living in New York, and sister to Sharks gang leader Bernardo, falls in love with Tony, former leader of the rival gang, the Jets, setting the stage for tragedy.
Van Draanen, Wendelin. Sammy Keyes and the search for Snake Eyes. New York : Dell Yearling, [2003], c2002. When thirteen-year-old Sammy finds herself with an abandoned baby on her hands, she sets out to find the young mother, who may belong to a gang, and accidentally jeopardizes her position on the softball team.
Williams, Stanley. Life in prison. New York : SeaStar Books, [2001], 1998. The author, imprisoned on Death Row since 1981, describes life in prison, warning young readers not to make the mistakes he made.
Wolff, Lisa, 1954- Gangs. San Diego : Lucent Books, c2000. Discusses gangs and their various aspects, including the reasons why people join them, their relationship to crime, their effects on society, and the prevention of gang-related crime.
Wright, Richard, 1908-1960. Rite of passage. New York : HarperCollins, c1994. When fifteen-year-old Johnny Gibbs is told that he is really a foster child, he runs off into the streets of Harlem and meets up with a gang that wants him to participate in a mugging.

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